PAK Vs AFG: Pakistan In Shock As Ramiz Raja Predicts Afghanistan Upset In Must-Win Clash
Former PCB chief Ramiz Raja has delivered a noteworthy prediction for the upcoming Pakistan vs Afghanistan ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match scheduled to take place in Chennai. Raja believes that the Chennai pitch, known for its spin-friendly conditions, will make Afghanistan the favourites against Babar Azam‘s Pakistan. Pakistan enters this match on the back of consecutive losses to India and Australia.
Former Pakistan cricketer and PCB chief Ramiz Raja has expressed the view that Afghanistan will hold the upper hand as they face Pakistan in a pivotal World Cup contest in Chennai on October 22. Pakistan’s recent losses to India and Australia have heightened the importance of securing a victory in this encounter to maintain realistic hopes of reaching the semifinals. Ramiz Raja suggests that the Chennai pitch, which tends to favour spin bowlers, provides Afghanistan with a significant advantage.
“It will be difficult for Pakistan to make a turnaround. Anything can happen in Chennai in their next match, which is against Afghanistan. Keeping in mind the performance of Pakistan batters against spin, anything can happen here. If it’s a spinning wicket, I think Afghanistan will be slightly ahead as favourites,” Ramiz Raja shared on his YouTube channel.
Up to this point, three matches have been played in Chennai during the ongoing World Cup. In the inaugural match, India faced Australia, and the Indian spinners bewildered the Australian lineup. The pitch, characterized by sharp turns, made it exceedingly difficult to confront spin bowlers.
Ramiz Raja Criticised Pakistan’s Fielding Against Australia
However, the subsequent two matches were played on different surfaces, offering more favourable batting conditions. Pakistan will hope that the pitch used for their match differs from the one used in the India-Australia clash; otherwise, Raja’s prediction may indeed come to fruition. A defeat for Pakistan in this match would all but extinguish their hopes of reaching the semifinals.
In addition to his pitch analysis, Ramiz Raja also criticized Pakistan’s subpar fielding performance against Australia. He noted a pivotal moment when Usama Mir dropped David Warner when the Aussie opener had just scored 10 runs. Warner went on to punish Pakistan by accumulating 163 runs.
Raja emphasized the rarity of a single dropped catch having such a significant impact on a cricket match. He highlighted that had Shaheen Afridi managed to dismiss Warner early, Australia could have been placed under substantial pressure. Raja concluded that Pakistan’s fielding had been highly disappointing during the game.
He stated, “It will be difficult for Pakistan to make a turnaround. Anything can happen in Chennai in their next match, which is against Afghanistan. Keeping in mind the performance of Pakistan
batters against spin, anything can happen here. If it’s a spinning wicket, I think Afghanistan
will be slightly ahead as favourites.”
Pakistan will come to Chennai with the pressure of two defeats on their back against India and Australia respectively. They will look forward to getting back to winning ways and Afghanistan is not going to be an easy opponent for them given the spin-friendly tracks of Chennai.
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ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 ICC ODI World Cup 2023 ICC World Cup 2023 Pakistan National Cricket Team Ramiz Raja
